melodious

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English melodious, from Middle French melodieus, melodieux. By surface analysis, melod(i) +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /məˈləʊdi.əs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /məˈloʊdi.əs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊdiəs

Adjective

melodious (comparative more melodious, superlative most melodious)

1. Having a pleasant melody or sound; tuneful.
   • 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iv:

     Tremulous on the bladed graſs ſhone bright the pearly drops, like an aſſembly of ſparkling ſtars dancing on the plains of the zodiac; vocal was every bending ſpray, every reed was inſpired, each warbling throat ſeemed to emulate the melodious voice of the bird of a thouſand ſongs.

   • 1960 October, P. Ransome-Wallis, “Modern motive power of the German Federal Railway: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 611:

     A lovely crisp exhaust: a feeling of almost unlimited power combined with complete freedom of running: and, to crown it all, a most melodious and wholly American chime whistle—these were my immediate impressions as we stormed rapidly out of Göttingen, intent on winning back some of the lost time.

   • 2013 October 13, Erik Adams, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Lisa’s Wedding” (season six, episode 19; originally aired 3/19/1995)”, in The Onion AV Club‎^[1]:

     Patinkin’s melodious voice is a natural fit for animation, and he breathes just the right type of upper-crust life into Hugh in 22 short minutes.

Derived terms

• immelodious
• melodiously
• melodiousness
• melodious warbler
• nonmelodious
• unmelodious

Translations

having a pleasant melody

• Azerbaijani: ahəngdar, melodik
• Bulgarian: мелодичен (bg) (melodičen)
• Catalan: melodiós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 旋律優美的 / 旋律优美的 (xúanlǜ yōuměi de)

• Danish: melodiøs
• Dutch: melodieus (nl)
• Esperanto: melodia (eo)
• Finnish: melodinen (fi), soinnukas (fi)
• French: mélodieux (fr)
• Galician: melodioso (gl) m
• German: melodiös (de), melodisch (de)
• Greek: μελωδικός (el) (melodikós)
• Hungarian: melodikus (hu), dallamos (hu)
• Irish: duanach
• Japanese: 旋律の美しい (せんりつのうつくしい, senritsu no ttsukushii), 旋律的な (せんりつてきな, senritsu-teki na)
• Kalmyk: эгшгтә (egşgtä)
• Kazakh: әуезді (äuezdı), әуенді (äuendı), сазды (sazdy), сарынды (saryndy)
• Latin: canōrus
• Lithuanian: dainingas
• Māori: rōreka, wainene, waitī
• Middle English: melodious
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: melodiøs, melodisk

  Nynorsk: melodiøs, melodisk

• Polish: melodyjny (pl)
• Portuguese: melodioso (pt), melódico (pt)
• Romanian: melodios (ro)
• Russian: мелоди́чный (ru) (melodíčnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: mànranach
• Spanish: melodioso
• Turkish: ahenkli (tr)
• Ukrainian: мелоді́йний (uk) (melodíjnyj)

Middle English

Alternative forms

• mellodyus
• melodius, melodyous, melodyouse, mellodyous, mellodyus (Late Middle English)
• melodyouws (Essex); melydiows, melydyus (Norfolk); melodiose (Catholicon Anglicum); melodyows (Promptorium Parvulorum)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French melodieus, melodieux; by surface analysis, melodie (“melodiousness”) +‎ -ous (“-ous”). First attested in c. 1385.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛˌlɔːdiˈuːs/, /mɛˈlɔːdius/
• IPA^(key): /ˌmɛlɔdiˈuːs/, /ˈmɛlɔdiuːs/, /ˌmɛlədiˈuːs/, /ˈmɛlədiuːs/ (by analogy with melodie)

Adjective

melodious (chiefly Late Middle English)

1. Melodious; musically harmonious or pleasant.
2. (rare, by extension) Harmonious, beneficial.

Descendants

• English: melodious
• Middle Scots: melodious, melodius
  • Scots: melodious

References

• “melōdiǒus, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “melodious, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.